Erdoğan's statement on Assad: The most important step is to start a new era with Syria

Erdoğan returned home following the Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Washington, the capital of the United States (USA), for the 75th anniversary of NATO's founding. During his return flight, Erdoğan answered questions from journalists who followed the summit.

Providing a general assessment of the summit and stating that it was generally productive, President Erdoğan said, "The whole world knows the price we have paid regarding terrorism. I emphasized here once again that we expect sincere solidarity from our allies in the fight we are waging against terrorism. I also expressed that the restrictions on defense industry trade must be lifted immediately. As you know, all allies had made commitments in this direction at the NATO Vilnius Summit. In the time that has passed, the majority of our allies have taken the necessary steps in line with their commitments." 

However, some NATO members have not changed their negative attitudes despite their promises. I addressed this situation specifically in both the first session and the bilateral meetings I held during the summit, and I explained these to the leaders I met with. I said, 'We no longer want to talk about restrictions among NATO allies.' Our balanced stance, which we have maintained since the first day of the Ukraine-Russia war, is already known to all leaders. Like Ukraine, the Russian Federation is also our neighbor. It is a country with which we have strong ties. We have multi-dimensional relations with both countries. 

We attach importance to preserving these despite the war. I pointed out that there should be a return to diplomacy and a ground for negotiation should be prepared before more blood is shed. In this direction, I emphasized that we are ready to continue the Istanbul process. As you know, former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has been appointed as the new Secretary General of NATO.

I had expressed our sensitivities and expectations to Rutte, who visited our country during his candidacy process. I believe he will act in this direction. Naturally, we also met with my dear friend Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who will hand over his duty on October 1. I conveyed our thanks for his dedicated work over the last 10 years and the close cooperation he developed with our country. On the occasion of the summit, I held bilateral meetings with many heads of state and government. I hope our visit and contacts will lead to auspicious outcomes," he said.

"WE ARE STRIVING FOR A FAIR APPROACH"

Upon the question, "The 75th anniversary of NATO has been commemorated; how do you evaluate NATO's function in the current state of the world compared to its claims? NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg issued warnings regarding 'evaluating new opportunities and capabilities within the defense industry,' and you said the same thing while departing from Istanbul. Who is this defense that Stoltenberg mentions against, and what is it against?" President Erdoğan replied, "The world is undergoing a rapid change. Within this rapid change, powers play a particularly large role. We are facing a world order where the powerful run rampant."

For example, Russia is in solidarity with China. This situation seriously disturbs the West. The West is providing all kinds of support to Ukraine, including weapons and ammunition, with all its means, both financially and in kind. Despite all this support, they have not yet been able to achieve the result they expected in Ukraine." 

At this point, their greatest assurance is the existence of NATO. NATO is a great power and it provides them with some relief. At the head of these Western countries is the United States of America. Alongside America, Western countries such as Germany, France, and the United Kingdom are involved. Thus, this power is reinforced. Despite this reinforcement, their failure to achieve the desired result in the great power competition inevitably leads these countries to a certain point. Our position as Turkey here is different. We are in communication with both Russia and Ukraine. While doing so, we strive to approach the situation as fairly as possible. 

This situation can sometimes disturb both Russia and Ukraine. But we say, 'Both of you are our neighbors, and we have had serious relations between us since the past. For example, we took a fair step regarding the Black Sea Grain Corridor. We met the demands of both Russia and Ukraine. They said, 'Give what you receive from this grain corridor to the West, but also give some to Africa, and you, as Turkey, take some as well.'

We tried to do this as much as we could. Now we say; let us reopen the grain corridor. We are currently holding talks on this with both Russia and Ukraine. We have not yet reached a result on this matter. My last meeting with Russian President Mr. Putin was about this. We discussed these issues again with Ukrainian President Mr. Zelensky at the NATO Summit. We want to make the grain corridor work with the Ukrainian side as well. I hope we will start operating this corridor again,' he said.

When asked, 'We have a unique place within NATO. So, how fair and balanced do you think the relationship we have established with NATO is? When you do a cost-benefit analysis, when you compare what we give to NATO and what we receive, is there a reciprocity in question?' Erdoğan replied, 'In a cost-benefit analysis, we as Turkey have not fallen into a position contrary to the principle of reciprocity. We have only not yet been able to achieve results in terms of NATO intervening in the situation regarding the fight against terrorism.'

I have expressed to Mr. Stoltenberg many times that we are uncomfortable with this. As a NATO country, we have always explained this discomfort to the West. Primarily Germany, France, and the United Kingdom are places where, as is known, terrorism finds a certain level of support. We explained these to Germany in particular in detail. For example, in the fight against terrorism, we were often left alone in terms of protecting our country's, and therefore NATO's, borders and eliminating threats. Not only that, but aid and support were given to the terrorists who threaten NATO's borders, strengthening their threats.'

These do not present a very positive picture. On the other hand, we currently have a problem with Germany, such as the turbines that should have arrived for the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant waiting at German customs. This has seriously disturbed us. I reminded German Chancellor Olaf Scholz of this again in our bilateral meeting. We need to overcome the difficulties that have arisen regarding both the failure to meet our Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft purchase request, the turbine issue, and the procurement of some machinery used in our frigates,' he replied.

'IT IS NORMAL FOR TURKEY TO BE REPRESENTED'

Regarding the question, 'The issue of the NATO Deputy Secretary General position is also on the agenda. Hüseyin Diriöz from Turkey served as Deputy Secretary General between 2010-2013, and Tacan İldem held the same position between 2016-2020. We know that you had a request for Turkey to be given a Deputy Secretary General position during your meeting with the new NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. What is his view, will this happen, and if it does, is there a designated name?' Erdoğan stated the following:

“I expressed this clearly at the press conference I held after the NATO Summit. Neither I nor our Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan make this decision alone. We have conveyed our request regarding this matter to them. Mr. Rutte had said he would come to Turkey before the handover. If this visit takes place, we will discuss these issues with him again there.

We are one of the most important countries in NATO. We provide very valuable contributions to the alliance staying together and maintaining its effectiveness. It is natural for Turkey to be represented in such a position within the Secretariat structure. Indeed, Mr. Rutte had also expressed that such a position would suit Turkey. We want a name from our country to be appointed as Deputy Secretary General not only for our country to be represented in that position, but also because we believe they will make a great contribution to NATO during these delicate times.”

"WHAT MATTERS IS THAT OUR F-16 REQUEST IS MET"

In response to the question, “You touched upon it at the press conference, but how will the F-35 issue be resolved? Is a return to the program in question, or will there be a clearing of accounts regarding the F-16s?”, President Erdoğan said, “Our priority here is for our F-16 request to be met. There may be different situations in the sub-categories, but we do not really want to bring the financial relations there to the agenda.

Because we already made our payment for the F-35s. In fact, 5 F-35s had even been taken into the hangar, but unfortunately, the situation developed differently, and later the US even reached the point of not giving us our F-16s. In the last meeting, US President Biden said, 'I will resolve the F-16 issue within 3-4 weeks.'

For us, what is important at this point is the F-16 issue. If these aircraft and their parts reach us, our technical staff is already sufficient at the moment. All our workshops in this field are very, very successful in F-16 modernization. Both we and our relevant ministers and institutions are following this process closely, and we are continuing our efforts to achieve results in a short time,” he said.

"WE ARE CONTINUING OUR RELATIONS WITHOUT BREAKING OR DAMAGING THEM"

Regarding the question, “Before the NATO Summit, you were at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Heads of State Summit. When we look at the Western press, they described and interpreted you as the 'only leader who can talk to Putin' among the leaders of NATO member countries. In this respect, what kind of balance policy is Turkey pursuing in terms of international politics and in terms of this precarious process ahead?”, President Erdoğan said, “We are continuing our relations with Russia, China, and even Belarus without breaking or damaging them. We had a very sincere meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit. We also had good meetings with Russian President Mr. Putin and Belarusian President Mr. Lukashenko.” 

I believe all these contacts will yield results sooner or later. We will see this. In the meantime, our ministerial colleagues have also held meetings. Our party's senior management was in China. They held very productive high-level meetings with the ruling party in China. When my colleagues briefed me on these meetings, they reported that 'they were treated with very high-level respect.'

Our colleagues carried out such a beautiful and successful visit. Afterwards, we met with Mr. Xi Jinping in Astana. We held our talks with him in this manner. He invited us to China again. I also invited him to our country. He said, 'Let me make my return visit next year.' In this way, we also had the opportunity to discuss all these matters between us, both political and commercial.

Now, in all likelihood, we may have a visit to China after the United Nations General Assembly meeting. But I also believe that Mr. Xi Jinping will pay us a return visit in 2025,” he said.

"THE PEACE TO BE BUILT IN SYRIA WILL BENEFIT US"

When asked, "You stated regarding the improvement of relations with Syria that 'we will extend our invitation to Bashar Assad.' At the press conference you held after the NATO Summit, you also had an approach saying, 'we have extended the invitation and are waiting for a response.' Is it envisioned that this invitation will take place in a location like Ankara or Istanbul, or in a region on the border line? We know how Russia views this rapprochement, but is there an attitude or reaction from the US and Iran front?" President Erdoğan replied, "I have assigned the task to Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. My Foreign Minister is currently determining the entire roadmap of the matter by meeting with his counterparts. We will take the step accordingly, hopefully. We believe that a fair peace is possible in Syria. We express at every opportunity that the territorial integrity of Syria is also in our interest. 

A fair peace to be built in Syria will benefit us the most. We say that the most important step of this construction process is to start a new era with Syria. So far, this process has developed in a positive direction. I hope that we will take concrete steps in the near future. The US and Iran should also be pleased with these positive developments and support the process so that all the suffering endured can come to an end. 

We have been striving for years to extinguish the fire in our neighbor. Our fundamental expectation is that no one should be disturbed by the climate that will emerge for Syria to build a new future as one and whole. Terrorist organizations will do their best to poison this process. They will organize provocations and set traps. We are aware of all these and are prepared. We want peace in Syria, and we invite everyone who stands for peace to support this historic call of ours,” he replied.

“As long as the Sulaymaniyah administration does not distance itself from the PKK, there will be no change in our attitude towards Sulaymaniyah, and the embargo on the airspace will continue.”

“There are reports that in operations against the PKK terrorist organization in Iraq, members of the terrorist organization are retreating south after setting fire to villages, towns, and some settlements. It has emerged that they are carrying out arson attacks. Reports have also surfaced that individuals close to Bafel Talabani and peshmerga belonging to them were involved in these attacks. Statements have also been made by the Erbil administration on this matter. Our Ministry of National Defense has also been posting “the lock is closing” messages in recent days. How do you evaluate the latest situation on the ground? 

Do you have any notes to share with us?” In response to the question, Erdoğan said, “After our visit to Iraq, we saw for the first time that very concrete steps were taken on the ground by the Iraqi administration regarding the fight against the PKK. They passed the statement that PKK activities are banned in Iraq through the National Security Council. Now we are seeing the reflections of this on the ground. The cooperation between our security forces and the Erbil administration after that visit is gratifying. We have a good relationship with both the Ministry of Defense and intelligence organizations in Iraq. The Iraqi Ministry of Interior officially announced that the arson and fire activities in Iraq were carried out by the PKK. Following this, the Erbil administration made statements confirming this. 

These are developments that have emerged for the first time in the fight against the PKK in the recent period. Therefore, this situation is not sufficient for us, but it is gratifying. After all, there is a progressing process. The tension between the Sulaymaniyah administration and the Erbil administration in Iraq also continues. We said this when we went to Erbil; as long as the Sulaymaniyah administration does not distance itself from the PKK, there will be no change in our attitude towards Sulaymaniyah. The embargo on the airspace will continue. We told them on every occasion, “If you take certain steps on the Sulaymaniyah side, we will evaluate our position.” The ball is currently in their court,” he stated.

WEED ANALOGY FOR FETO AND PKK

"We are unable to maintain a relationship with the United States at the desired level. We are trying to maintain an unreliable alliance relationship, especially due to their approach to the PKK, PYD, and FETO. There is an upcoming election in the US in November. Washington presents the fight against DAESH as a cover for the support it gives to the PKK and PYD. On the other hand, they are also shielding FETO. They don't even make up an excuse for this. At this point, what do you think the US might be calculating at the expense of losing Turkey?" In response to the question, Erdoğan noted the following:

"We could not discuss these issues with Mr. Biden at the NATO Summit. We did not get into topics like what kind of calculation there is regarding FETO. Currently, FETO is not even in the picture. It is not clear what it is. Also, there is an election in the US in three and a half months. We also have the United Nations General Assembly on our agenda. What is the world talking about at the General Assembly? We will see these. We will give our messages there again.

I hope that together with these messages, we will achieve favorable results from the United Nations General Assembly. The very idea of putting terrorist organizations and an ally like Turkey on the two scales of a balance is a flawed approach from the start. There can be no excuse for supporting puppets like FETO and the PKK, or using them one way or another. 

Both FETO and the PKK are like weeds planted to damage a neighbor's field. Your neighbor will surely find a way to fight them and clear those weeds from their field, but those seeds will somehow jump to your land and rest assured, they will harm you too. I have been emphasizing the boomerang nature of terrorism for years. Our justification has been proven over time on various occasions."

In response to a journalist's question, "Do you think US President Biden will resist the pressure to 'withdraw' directed at him? Will he resist? Should he resist? You answered at the press conference today, but would you prefer Donald Trump or Joe Biden?", President Erdoğan said, "There is a reality, and it is this: first of all, Biden has already said 'I am not withdrawing.' The American media has even started to announce who they will bring in and where. Both names are requesting support from the American public for a second term. The American people will weigh what both names have done or failed to do during their presidencies and make a decision. We will wait and see this decision."

THE ISSUE OF RECOGNIZING PALESTINE AS A STATE

Regarding the question, "In the early general elections held by the decision of President Emmanuel Macron in France, the recognition of the Palestinian state is among the main election promises of the leftist New Popular Front alliance, which came first in the polls. If they succeed, will their stance on Palestine set an example for other European countries?", Erdoğan said, "As President, the decision of who will form the government with whom in France will be made by French President Macron. Whatever the coalition forces are right now, they will all do the necessary work in parliament, and the final word on this matter belongs to Macron." 

On the other hand, what those who want to stand on the right side of history must do is recognize Palestine as a state. A fair and just approach requires this. The fuse for the process of recognizing the legitimacy of Palestine and the State of Palestine has already been lit in Europe. The recent accurate decisions taken by Spain, Norway, Ireland, and Slovenia have opened that door. It would please us if France were to take such a decision. The decision to recognize Palestine contributes to world peace and tranquility.

As of today, all countries that do not recognize Palestine as a state should take this correct decision without delay. The path to both regional and global peace lies through a two-state solution within the 1967 borders," he replied.

"WE HOPE THAT LASTING PEACE WILL BE ACHIEVED SOON"

In response to the question, "The President has changed in Iran, and Pashinyan in Armenia is making statements in favor of peace. The Turkey-Azerbaijan perspective is based on bringing peace to the Caucasus; in this context, what would you say about the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement and Iran's view on the Zangezur Corridor? You had indicated that when Armenia and Azerbaijan sign a peace agreement, that region will have a climate of complete peace and perhaps the Armenia-Turkey border could be opened. Can this also be considered?", President Erdoğan stated the following:

"Why shouldn't it be considered? I mean, we have already told Pashinyan everything on this matter. We must now set all our sails toward peace. We hope that a lasting peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia will be achieved soon. As Turkey, we wholeheartedly support this peace. The opening of the Zangezur Corridor is also a step that will crown and complete this peace agreement. These steps will contribute positively to the prosperity and peace of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkey, and other countries in the region. We wish for decisions with so many positive aspects to be taken without delay and for the necessary actions to be carried out." 

Positive signals are coming from the region, and we hope these will turn into good news. It is important for other countries to demonstrate a similar approach in contributing to the peace process for the establishment of lasting peace as soon as possible. We did not discuss the Zangezur Corridor issue in our meeting with the President of Iran. We only made assessments regarding how he won this election. We want to move Turkey-Iran relations to a much different point. The Zangezur Corridor is a strategic corridor that will be in the interest of everyone, especially Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Iran, and as soon as this corridor becomes operational, both Iran and Azerbaijan will be relieved. That corridor is very important for Azerbaijani President İlham Aliyev. Hopefully, as soon as the rail system there becomes operational, Azerbaijan will be very, very relieved."

"WE MUST TALK ABOUT PEACE"

In response to the question, "The risk of a 3rd World War has started to be mentioned more frequently than ever before. You attended the last 2 major international summits. The Shanghai Summit, and then the NATO Summit. Do you see this risk as high at the end of these two summits? Do you have such a concern? If so, what concrete steps should be taken to prevent this?" Erdoğan replied, "Honestly, I do not see it, and I do not want to see it.

When we consider the reasons that dragged the world into war before and the measures that were not taken, it is clear that we must take care not to fall into those same mistakes today.

We should talk about peace rather than war, and we must speak of peace. We should take every step we take for peace, not tension, and we must make our plans to ensure and make peace permanent. All countries need to implement efforts that will build a climate of peace and tranquility, not tension," he replied.

News Source: İHA